This report is the culmination of literature study and semi-structured interviews which assisted in developing a Model for Implementation of Restorative Justice in the South African Correctional System. The study explores the use of Restorative Justice as part of rehabilitation in a prison setting. Literature focuses mainly on Restorative Justice as part of diversion, in cases of first offenders and less serious offences. Restorative Justice with sentenced offenders has been gaining momentum, though. Diversity in terms of language, cultural and religious practice as well as social background, should be considered as it affects the decision to enter into a Restorative Justice process. Restorative Justice with sentenced offenders is challenging and in the main a largely unsupported field. The study draws on experience from other countries, while at the same time advocate for uniquely South African practice. The involvement of the most important role players, namely victim, offender and the community is emphasized. Attitude and insufficient training seem to be some of the challenges for the implementation of Restorative Justice. Successes are reported in the few sites where Restorative Justice is implemented in the Correctional System, but a change of mindset, of being open to possibilities other than lock-up and punish in the entire Criminal Justice System is needed. Restorative Justice in the Correctional System seems to have been approached as yet another new programme, and not as a paradigm shift for the entire Criminal Justice System. Dealing with conflict in a restorative way should be at the front end of the chain, with young children whose behaviour can be directed, as changing behaviour of adults proves to be difficult. Repentance and forgiveness in different cultures and spiritual backgrounds are some of the issues that are grappled with, although forgiveness is nowhere indicated as a requirement for a successful Restorative Justice process. Voluntary participation is required from victims and offenders with support from communities. It remains a deeply spiritual and individual journey for those who choose to turn away from anger, fear and hatred, and start the process of personal healing and restoration. Restorative Justice with sentenced offenders can assist in dealing with the aftermath of crime. / Penology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Penology)

In this research project the overcrowding problem in South African prisons will be analysed as well as the influence it had on the rehabilitation of offenders. The problem of overcrowding in South Africa's prisons is very clear when the approved accommodation of a prison is compared with the actual number of prisoners incarcerated. Prison sentences are a favoured form of punishment throughout the world. More and more people seek alternatives to incarceration in order to reduce prison overcrowding. The time to finalize criminal cases, releases on bail, the abolishment of minimum sentences and better utilization of community based sentences are some of the issues which can reduce overcrowding. One of the concepts that was implemented to establish rehabilitation within prisons was Unit Management. The number of prisoners incarcerated makes it difficult for Unit Management to be effective. In some cases prisoners are kept under inhumane conditions which is a violation of the Constitution of South Africa. Currently the morale of members of Correctional Services is very low and this has an influence on the way in which they treat prisoners. These members are supposed to be an example to prisoners but instead their bad behaviour has a negative influence on prisoner's discipline. Correctional Services goal is to make every member a rehabilitator but overcrowding will first have to be reduced. Individual attention to prisoners is one of the building blocks of Unit Management but overcrowding of prisons creates a member/prisoner ratio which is far too high to be effective with rehabilitating prisoners. Community based sentences can also be utilized more frequently by the courts. It can better rehabilitation possibilities and through this the objectives of punishment are met. In the past the focus of South African Law was on the criminal. With the Correctional Services Act (Act 111/1998) this focus was shifted to the victim as well. Both these parties can now come together and discuss the offence as well as the influence it had on the victim. This is called restorative justice and it helps the offender with re-integration into the community. / Criminology and Security Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Penology)

Text in Afrikaans / Gevangenis oorbevolking is ʼn probleem waarmee die Suid-Afrikaanse korrektiewe stelsel reeds vir baie jare worstel. Suid-Afrika is een van die lande met die hoogste gevangenis bevolking in die wêreld. Een van die grootste probleme wat tot die situasie bydra, is die aantal oortreders wat nie in staat is om borg te betaal nie. ʼn Ander probleem is die aantal verhoorafwagtendes wat in aanhouding is. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Witskrif van die Departement van Korrektiewe Dienste, is vasberade om die rehabilitering van die oortreder te bevorder. Die fokus van die studie wentel om die rehabilitasie van die oortreder en die vraag of hierdie doelwit binne die korrektiewe stelsel haalbaar is. Heelwat klem word op die noodsaaklikheid van alternatiewe vonnisse geplaas asook rehabilitasie as strafoogmerk tydens vonnisoplegging. Dit is die navorser se mening dat die korrektiewe stelsel nie die geskikste plek is vir die rehabilitering van die oortreder nie. / Criminology and Security Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Penology)

The aim of this dissertation is to place the phenomenon of the overpopulation of South African prisons in perspective and to rectify the current situation in search of possible solutions. Since 1981, when this phenomenon reached unmanageable proportions, government has made numerous amnesties. This was only a short-term alleviation of the problem due to the high levels of recidivism. Correctional supervision as a sentence option was advocated by both the Lansdowne and Viljoen Commissions, enacted during 1986 and finally implemented during 1991. Initial expectations soon became blurred by factors such as insufficient development programmes and specialised personnel, enormous caseloads and the exclusion of supervision cases from development programmes. This study endeavours to analyse the current application of correctional supervision to determine the stumbling blocks and to create a foundation for new perspectives and possible solutions. / Penology / M.A. (Penology)

This report is the result of a literature study and questionnaire which gave insight on the role of Department of Correctional Services in the rehabilitation of child molesters. Correctional Services has adopted a new approach, where offenders need to change their negative behavior and be rehabilitated. Corrections have a societal responsibility towards the community to guide the offender on his rehabilitation path. This study was conducted to give a better understanding of rehabilitation to child molesters. It seems that child molesters will re-offend if they are not included in a thorough treatment programme. The purpose of this research is to determine if the Department of Correctional Services delivers on its legal and social responsibility towards the rehabilitation of child molesters. It is evaluated against international benchmarks. In this study the researcher gathered information on the profile of a child molester, the programmes currently available in Correctional Services, and also the involvement of the community in this process. Corrections cannot work alone, and needs the help of the community and leaders in the community to assist it in this process. Correctional Services faces many challenges in order to succeed in the rehabilitation of offenders. Currently there is a shortage of social workers and psychologists in the Department of Correctional Services, and the Department cannot, therefore, fully succeed in its rehabilitative role. Another aspect is that treatment is voluntary, and offenders can decide if they want to become involved or not. Only if the judge decides that the offender must be included in therapy, can he be forced to do so. / Penology / M.A. (Penology)

Text in English / South Africa has a high level of Crime and thus also has a high level of recidivism. The high rate of crime contributes to overcrowding in prison. The Department of Correctional Services has programmes for the offenders such as rehabilitation, parole, probation, re-entry and reintegration. These programmes are not effective to an extent that they are not changing the offenders’ behaviour. The qualitative aim of this study was to explore recidivism through the application of concepts and theories. The significant impact that rehabilitation, parole, re-entry, probation and reintegration exerted on recidivism cause more problems for the Department Correctional Services. Ineffectiveness of these programmes has a negative impact on the escalation of recidivism. The study revealed that programmes are not effective or adequate and that recidivism is the end-product. The recommendation from the study indicates that Correctional Services should encourage offenders to participate in these programmes. The department should also review policies on these programmes and align them with international standards. The study also recommended that more research needs to be conducted on recidivism in order to understand its impact into the community and Correctional Services. The recommendations on this study indicates that recidivists should have their own specific facilities and offenders that have committed different type of crimes be treated and offered a programme designed for a particular offender and not to use a “one size fits all” approach. / Corrections Management / M.A. (Corrections Management)

The thesis examine the process of rehabilitation offered by the Department of Correctional Service as from the time the offender is admitted (sentenced) until such time he is released back into society. Rehabilitation in the departmental context is based on four key delivery areas, which must be in place to ensure that offenders are rehabilitated. Faced with several challenges, e.g. demilitarization, structural defects of the facilities that are not conducive for rehabilitation or build for Unit management principles, career path developed for officials, and the transformation of the old penitentiary system to the new generation prison system, the department failed to achieve their objectives. The thesis will examine the current process of rehabilitation in the Department of Correctional Service, and identify areas of under performance to seek best practices to improve service delivery. The study will also focus on the readiness of offenders to be release as rehabilitated offenders and the After Care the Department provide to offenders upon their release. / Corrections Management / M.A. (Correctional Management)

Since the Department of Correctional Services has been transformed into an institution of rehabilitation and the promotion of corrections has become a societal responsibility, there is a new dimension to the classification system whereby offenders are separated according to their potential for treatment and training programmes. Research into offender classification as a tool to rehabilitate offenders in corrections was necessitated by the way in which assessment was used for classification. Corrections uses offender files as the only determinant of classification assessment. Simply investigating offender files and observing classification hearings does not reveal the full aspects of the character of the offender as an individual. Corrections does not use qualitative research to gain an understanding of real issues faced by the offender. The problems with classification are also quantity assessments that are too narrow. Most correctional institutions believe that better data and statistical analysis will in one way or the other improve the situation for offenders and correctional officials. Staffs have limited skills and lack the appropriate training to support the rehabilitation of offenders. This remains an obstacle to the delivery and transformation of the department and implies that there is ineffective treatment of offenders. The increasing dissatisfaction with treatment and rehabilitation services available to offenders in South African prisons can result in an increase in recidivism. All of the above are reasons why this research became important. The investigation contributes largely to scientific knowledge regarding the importance of classification for each individual within corrections. In this research the extent to which classification treatment rehabilitation arrangements are based on the concept of differential treatment is studied. This implies that offenders' needs and problems must be specific and treated on an individualised basis. This study focuses on classifying offenders as a means to rehabilitate them effectively. Particular emphasis will be placed on philosophical approaches, theoretical frameworks and the effectiveness of offenders' treatment through the utilisation of reliable assessment tools. This research was conducted through an extensive literature study by examining offender classification as a rehabilitation tool from a Penological perspective. International and national approaches as well as standards for the treatment of offenders and a range of rehabilitation programmes were also studied. / Department of Penology / M.A. (Penology)

The researcher conducted a mixed method research study on parole violations from a South African perspective. In South Africa, there is limited research regarding the causes of parole violations. Thus, the study is mainly descriptive, but also exploratory in nature and considered a first of its kind. The study aimed to explore parole violation as a phenomenon through the perceptions, opinions, attitudes and incident recall of re-incarcerated parolees. Furthermore, the study aimed to describe the causes for parolees to fail on parole. A two-phase sequential mixed methods research design was used that involved the collection and analysis of primarily quantitative data from self-administered questionnaires. These questionnaires were complemented by a qualitative data collection phase consisting of focus group interviews. A representative sample (n=111) chosen according to the various ethnic groups was drawn from a population of 1 111 adult male parole violators in the Gauteng region (aligned to the regional divisions used by the Department of Correctional Services and not to the provincial borders) for the quantitative phase. Non-probability sampling was used to select 22 participants who volunteered for the second, qualitative phase of the study (focus group interviews). Descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyse the data collected from the questionnaires. The data was analysed by means of frequencies (frequency tables and graphs) to describe one variable and cross tabulations (contingency tables) to show bivariate quantitative data. All the focus group interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. The transcripts provided a complete record of the discussions and helped to facilitate the analysis of the data according to identified, recurring themes. On release, many stigmatised and rejected parolees face widespread post-release challenges that prevent successful reintegration. The study revealed that poor pre-release planning and post-release support, a lack of education, unemployment, substance abuse, and a loss of family support are described as the main causes of parole violations. The recommendations from the research findings showed the importance of pre-release planning, risk assessment, employment, education, treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, community partnerships, family involvement, and graduated responses to parole violations that are fair, consistent, and legal. / Penology / D.Lit. et Phil. (Penology)

Summaries in Engish and Afrikaans / The goal of this research is to evaluate whether a personal and social skills program can effectively be implemented by social workers in a prison. A control- and experimental group were used in a quasiexperimental design. The respondents were twenty-four white, male, sentenced prisoners in Pretoria Central Prison. The Heimler scale for social functioning and the Hudson-scale for family relations are the standard questionnaires, which were utilised to measure results during the pre-testing and post-testing phase. All twenty-four respondents completed the scales during the pre- and post-testing phase. The Wilcoxon t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used for statistical purposes. A computer was used to process data. Both measurement scales confirmed positive results. The independent variable, that is, the personal and social skills program had an effect in the desired direction on respondents in the experimental group. The Hudson-scale for interpersonal relationships, however, showed more dramatic results. The results for the control group, showed noticeable decline in both social functioning of the respondents as well as experience of family relationships. / Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om te bepaal of maatskaplike werkers in 'n gevangenis 'n persoonlike en sosiale vaardigheidsprogram effektief kan implementeer. 'n Kontrole- en eksperimentele groep was benut in die uitvoering van 'n kwasi-eksperimentele ontwerp. Die proefpersone was vier-entwintig Blanke, manlike gevangenes te Pretoria-Sentraal Gevangenis. Die Heimler-skaal vir maatskaplike funksionering en die Hudsonskaal vir gesinsverhoudinge was die gestandardiseerde vraelyste, wat gebruik is om die resultate tydens voor- en na-toetsing. Die meetinstrumente is deur al vier-en-twintig respondente voltooi. Die Wilcoxon t-toets en Mann-Whitney U-toets is benut vir statistiese doeleindes. 'n Rekenaar is gebruik om data te verwerk. Beide metingskale het positiewe resultate getoon. Die onafhanklike veranderlike, die persoonlike- en sosialevaardigheidsprogram, het 'n effek in die gewenste rigtings gehad op die proefpersone in die ksperimentele groep, hoewel die Hudson-skaal vir gesinsverhoudinge, meer dramatiese resultate getoon het. Die resultate van die proefpersone in die kontrole groep, het merkbare agteruitgang getoon op beide skale. / Social Sciences / M.A. (Social Work)